This invention pertains to compliant connectors and more particularly to dual compliant connectors for interconnecting apparatus such as two printed circuit boards.
Compliant connector pins provide a permanent or one time, solderless connection to a printed circuit board (PCB) by being deformed upon insertion into a plated via opening to establish a reliable, high pressure contact.
Compliant connectors take many forms, usually by reconfiguring a portion of the pin to cause it to project beyond the normal periphery of the pin or by the addition of a sleeve that extends beyond the pin periphery and is compressible to form the high pressure electrical connection. The common operation is that the pin is readily received in the via opening, but the compliant portion must deform to produce the permanent, high pressure electrical connection.
It is frequently desired to create a permanent, solderless connection between printed circuit boards in circumstances where commercial soldering techniques are impractical or not usable. An example of such an environment is the use of multiple card portions to form an irregularly shaped card, while making optimum use of the panel members from which the card or backplane is fabricated. It is also frequently required that multiple cards be used and interconnected when the using device provides only an irregular confined volume to accommodate the electronic functions.
The compliant connector of the present invention uses a pin with dual compliant portions for establishing an interconnection between two printed circuit boards. The connector includes an intermediate molded body portion that captures and retains the multiple pins in a predetermined configuration with a compliant connecting portion adjacent each molded body portion surface from which the pin protrudes. To maintain correct positioning and a positive orientation, the pins are formed with tabs or another irregular structural formation in the pin portion that is captured in the molded body portion. The molded body portion may further include abutment projections adjacent the pins to engage the surface of a printed circuit board assembled to the connector and thereby determine the positioning of the connector pin compliant connector portions within the cooperating printed circuit board via openings. The separation between the connected printed circuit boards is determined by the thickness of the molded body portion. Another modification is the provision of notched indentations in the body portion side portion surfaces to permit the connector to be formed in extended lengths and separated to create a connector with a desired number of pins.
When greater separation is required, the body portion can be formed as two separate parts with elongated pins extend through and between both to increase the spacing between printed circuit board attachment locations.
Another variation that can be incorporated in connectors using the present invention is the use of larger and smaller pins. Larger pins could accommodate power applications and smaller pins could be utilized for high density signal applications.